Panch phoran is traditionally used with vegetables, chicken or beef curry, fish, lentils, shukto and pickle.

In the tradition of Oriya and Bengali cuisine, panch phoron is typically fried in cooking oil or ghee, which causes it to immediately begin popping. This technique is known as "tempering", called ବଘାର (baghaar) in Oriya, ফোড়ন (phoŗon) or বাগাড় (bagaŗ) in Bengali and छौंक (chaunk) in Hindi. After tempering, other ingredients are added to the fried spices to be coated in the mixture.